The Associated Press
Lance Armstrong photo by Getty Images
AUSTIN, Texas - Lance Armstrong tells The Associated Press that he will no longer fight charges from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his unprecedented cycling career.
In response, the USADA chief executive Travis Tygart says the agency will ban Lance Armstrong from cycling for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles for doping.
Armstrong says he is innocent, but announced Thursday night that he has decided against fighting USADA because he is weary of the doping accusations that have dogged him for years.
USADA says Armstrong used banned substances dating to 1996, including the blood-booster EPO and steroids, as well as blood transfusions. Armstrong sued in federal court to block the charges but lost.
The 40-year-old Armstrong retired from cycling in 2011.
Armstrong says USADA doesn't have the authority to vacate his Tour titles. However, Tygart told The Associated Press that USADA can do it.
Tygart called the Armstrong case a "heartbreaking" example of a win-at-all costs approach to sports.
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